ACTION COMICS #782
"Trial by Fire"
Not Recommended (2/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Joe Kelly
Pencils: Kano
Inks: Marlo Alquiza
Colors: Wildstorm FX
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
I admit I haven't been following the "Our Worlds at War" event very closely. I get the general gist of it, though, but when reading this climactic chapter in the crossover, I was completely lost. It's not that the necessary exposition isn't there... most of it is. But it seems poorly organized somehow. In the end, though, the real problem is that the cosmic conflict just isn't that compelling.
Superman has immersed himself in the heart of the sun, and he emerges transformed and powered up beyond imagination. The problem is that he might have lost his humanity in the process. Brainiac 13 prepares to extend his influence beyond Warworld to Earth and Apokalips, but Superman realizes that destroying B-13 would be as disastrous as allowing him to dominate the universe.
Kano's art is creative and detailed, and he captures te sci-fi feel of the story perfectly. The problem is that the characters are lost in all that cool technology. There's no humanity to any of the characters. Comicraft developed some nice lettering effects to show how alien some of the characters are, but there are so many of these new balloon styles that they get a bit mixed up.
Though one has to dig through the script for the exposition, Kelly still provides the basics of the event. Imperiex was the threat at first, but now B-13 is the problem. But there's so much other information that goes unsaid. Luthor's new ally (General Zod, I believe) goes unidentified, and Jimmy Olsen's computer speak and Darkseid's role in this drama are never explained. One could argue that the story is for those that have followed "Our Worlds at War" closely from the start, but I think accessibility's important as well for those whose wallets can't quite cope with the burden of three months of crossover books.
In this story, the "super" is definitely being emphasized over the "man." We're told this is a war, but it doesn't look like one, sound like one. We don't see the effects of the war on average people. We don't see the effects on the heroes either; we're just told they're feeling the pain of the conflict.
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